St. Anthony Boys and Girls Club thrilled by donations

The St. Anthony Boys and Girls Club were thrilled to receive a number of donations from the public, including a $550 donation from the staff of Jungle Jim’s on behalf of its owners.

The St. Anthony Boys and Girls Club are confident they can overcome recent challenges with continued community support.

Although the
organization’s budget was recently cut by 55 percent, they’ve been receiving
hope in the form of donations from the public.

Amongst several
other donations, Budgell’s Construction recently donated $400 and the staff of
Jungle Jim’s in St. Anthony made a donation of $550 as a Christmas gift on
behalf of the owners.

Biggest of all,
though, was a donation of $1,000 from 13-year-old Sriharan Sinnadurai. Sriharan
currently lives in Toronto but was born in St. Anthony and visited the town
over the summer. During her time in St. Anthony, she also volunteered at the
John M. Gray centre and was inspired to help out the community in different
ways.

“Of course, I
would love to be connected with my birthplace and help the community,” she
said.

The money she
donated was saved up from many birthdays and she now hopes to continue raising
money by connecting with other people who used to live in St. Anthony and now
live in Toronto. She suggests she may also hold a bake sale or some other type
of fundraiser.

According to Executive
Director Colleen Loder, due to the budget cuts, the Boys and Girls Club have
less staff. Therefore, a number of children have been waitlisted until more
staff is available.

This is where
the support of the community plays such an important role. The organization
hopes that the donations can go towards hiring more staff in order to service more
children.

“In my view, the
community needs to take hold of the club because the community is what grows
the club,” said Loder. “Raising funds and volunteering are a big part of what
allows the club to continue.”

Given the substantial
public support the group is receiving, she is optimistic about the Boys and
Girls Club’s future prospects.

“We’ve been open
since 2000 and we’ve had a lot of struggles and we’ve overcome it all,” she
said. “And we’re going to overcome this one too.”

info@northernpen.ca

Although the
organization’s budget was recently cut by 55 percent, they’ve been receiving
hope in the form of donations from the public.

Amongst several
other donations, Budgell’s Construction recently donated $400 and the staff of
Jungle Jim’s in St. Anthony made a donation of $550 as a Christmas gift on
behalf of the owners.

Biggest of all,
though, was a donation of $1,000 from 13-year-old Sriharan Sinnadurai. Sriharan
currently lives in Toronto but was born in St. Anthony and visited the town
over the summer. During her time in St. Anthony, she also volunteered at the
John M. Gray centre and was inspired to help out the community in different
ways.

“Of course, I
would love to be connected with my birthplace and help the community,” she
said.

The money she
donated was saved up from many birthdays and she now hopes to continue raising
money by connecting with other people who used to live in St. Anthony and now
live in Toronto. She suggests she may also hold a bake sale or some other type
of fundraiser.

According to Executive
Director Colleen Loder, due to the budget cuts, the Boys and Girls Club have
less staff. Therefore, a number of children have been waitlisted until more
staff is available.

This is where
the support of the community plays such an important role. The organization
hopes that the donations can go towards hiring more staff in order to service more
children.

“In my view, the
community needs to take hold of the club because the community is what grows
the club,” said Loder. “Raising funds and volunteering are a big part of what
allows the club to continue.”

Given the substantial
public support the group is receiving, she is optimistic about the Boys and
Girls Club’s future prospects.

“We’ve been open
since 2000 and we’ve had a lot of struggles and we’ve overcome it all,” she
said. “And we’re going to overcome this one too.”